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gas tax

Recall that we have been piloting solar bollards on the dark bits of the West Bench walking path. Although the lights are a bit underwhelming in the winter, their performance is much better in the summer (which is when most people use the path). Part of the issue is that the lights have powersaving technology to avoid running the battery to zero before dawn. They switch to 30% output 5 hours after dusk, which is one of the reasons the lights are so dim on winter nights (dusk + 5 hours is still before my bedtime in December and January).

As you may have noticed, lights are being installed on West Bench Hill Road. Here is an image posted by RDOS Community Services Manager Mark Woods on Facebook. I assume from the strategic framing of the rainbow that he is happy with the lights.

Background

The West Bench pedestrian corridor was a joint project of the RDOS and the Province of BC completed in 2013. Half the costs were covered by a grant from the Province and the remainder was covered by Area F gas tax funds. Much of the path was undertaken coincidentally with the West Bench water system upgrade. This made sense since major repairs were required to the roads and right-of-way after the new water mains were installed.